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Ruth Martin

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In recognition of National Family Caregivers Month in November, the broad-based coalition of organizations pushing for the Family And Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act are rallying online to call attention to family caregivers’ need for supportive workplace polices like the national paid family and medical leave program the FAMILY Act would establish. The effort is being hosted by Family Values @ Work, MomsRising and the National Partnership for Women and Families.

Breaking news: The U.S. Senate could vote soon on the Paycheck Fairness Act and on the Fair Minimum Wage Act. Votes could happen as early as Wednesday, September 10. Time is short! And your voice is needed now to let Congress know we're paying attention to how they vote -- and we expect them to step up for women and families.

There is an election right around the corner and that makes now the perfect time to make sure that our elected officials in Congress and beyond know that we matter and we will be holding them accountable. Women and family economic security issues are more than just political footballs and talking points. Our voices, and our votes, matter. #WEMatter.

It was on Sunday that the average earnings of Black women in the United States FINALLY equaled the average earnings of white men in 2013. It is July. We’re now 7 months into 2014 – in fact, it’s almost August. That means Black women had to work for more than 19 months to earn what white men earned in 12 months because Black women currently make only 64 cents to a white man's dollar. Your voice is needed now to bring this issue forward. The more of us who speak up, the faster we'll get to solutions.

Did you know that only 12% of Americans have access to paid family (maternity/paternity) leave in the United States? And that having a baby is a leading cause of poverty spells in this country? Do you find that appalling? Me too.

Are you kidding me?!? Some members of the U.S. Senate just used a procedural move to BLOCK a vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act . We will hold them accountable. We need 1,000 contributions by midnight tomorrow night to turbocharge our campaign for equal pay! Join us and pitch in $5 or more right now. What happened? Because of Senate rules, at least 60 senators needed to vote "yes" on a procedural motion called “cloture” in order to bring the Paycheck Fairness Act up for a vote on the Senate floor. The Senate voted 53-44 against cloture, blocking the Paycheck Fairness Act from moving forward...

Wouldn't be nice if all of the 72 million working women in America had journalists hunting down information to reveal if they were getting paid less than their male colleagues for the same work? Last night, the social media sphere exploded with news that GM’s first female CEO, Mary Barra , was possibly being paid significantly less than what her male predecessor was paid. While the story is more complex given the convoluted way executive pay is structured , someone was looking out for Mary Barra and that's awesome. What about the rest of us? Sign on to call on Congress to pass pay...

/*-->*/ I’m from West Virginia, and the recent chemical spill breaks my heart, makes me very angry, and makes me scared for my friends and family. Imagine not being able to give your children a glass of water to drink. Imagine not being able to cook for them, or having to tell them that they can't bathe or brush their teeth because the water will make them sick. Imagine being pregnant and told that the water could be harmful to your pregnancy. It's terrifying. That’s what happened to tens of thousands of moms in West Virginia, including many of my friends, because 10,000 US gallons of 4-...

Guess what? It’s "go time" for paid family leave! Two weeks ago I wrote to tell you that Congress was soon introducing a paid family leave bill, including maternity/paternity leave, called the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act (FAMILY Act). You can read more about this below. Now, the time has come! The FAMILY Act will be introduced by Sen. Gillibrand and Rep. DeLauro this Thursday! Introduction is happening on Thursday, Dec. 12! Make sure your members of Congress know you want them to vote YES and sign on as co-sponsors of the FAMILY Act. http://action.momsrising.org/go/3780?ak_proof=1...

“When I had my first child I had to return to work within 3 weeks. I was teaching High School science…I only had 2 weeks of paid vacation so I used all of it. I only had a third week off because my daughter’s birth came at spring break.” – MomsRising member Holly from Colorado Unfortunately, Holly's situation is not uncommon in the United States, the only industrialized country in the world without a national paid leave policy . Only 11 percent of Americans have access to paid family leave through their employers. Yes, the 20-year-old Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows some employees to...

Today is my daughter Beatrix’s 2nd birthday and that has me feeling “all the feelings” because Bea’s birth and my dad’s death are so inextricably linked that it is impossible for me to think of one without the other. My husband, Matt, feeding Bea in the NICU. My husband and I told my parents I was three months pregnant with baby # 2 the same week a doctor told my dad, that, because of his cancer , he had three months left to live. I remember thinking my news had to cancel out his, because that is just the kind of dad he was: Always, always there for us. No way would he miss this baby’s birth...

I LOVE it when my campaign issues come up in pop culture - and this week has been a banner week for Fair Pay references. So I had to share! First there is this snippet from Conan O'Brien's August 15th show (find this image and more here ). And then the Internet gave us this amazing video: Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments!

The fact that only 11 percent of employees in the United States are provided any kind of paid family leave by their employers makes me angry. Kind of like that angry cat in the picture. We can change this! For the first time ever, the United States Senate Appropriations Committee has approved a budget bill that includes $5 million to help states develop paid leave programs by providing states with grant money to assist with the planning and start up of state paid leave programs. But first, the full U.S. Senate and House of Representatives still need to vote to keep the State Paid Leave Fund...

In this country, paid family leave has been nothing more than a sleep-deprived fantasy for most new parents. But now there's some exciting news! MomsRising members have been sending storks to the Hill all year and it's paying off! The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee has approved a budget bill that includes million to help states develop paid leave programs. For the first time ever, the United States Senate Appropriations Committee has approved a budget bill that includes $5 million to help states develop paid leave programs. But we can’t celebrate just yet: The full U.S. Senate and House...

We have great news! We won! After a long fight, more than one million New Yorkers have brand new access to paid sick days! The City Council was up late and passed the law at 2:32 this morning . Thank you to every one of our members and coalition partners for making this win possible! You sent thousands of letters and made hundreds of phone calls to City Council members. You signed petitions, rallied at City Hall, and shared your stories to explain how important earned sick days are to moms and our families. You even hand-delivered messages addressed to Speaker Christine Quinn to convince her...

Iowans, this message is just for you: THIS week Sen. Tom Harkin's staff is hosting several town halls across Iowa and it's a perfect time to go and talk about why access to earned paid sick days and paid family leave are so important. Sen. Harkin is champion on these issues for families across Iowa and across the country - but he can't do it without your help. If you've got questions about where things stand for these issues in Washington, DC and stories and experiences to share about why we need access to earned sick time and paid family leave, be sure to stop by one of these town halls this...

That was the mantra my almost-4-year-old-daughter chanted over and over again last week when we went to Capitol Hill to deliver a message to Congress: 50 years ago the Equal Pay Act was passed but it’s not working. Women still earn, on average 77 to the dollar for the same work – it’s time to finally close the wage gap and pass the Paycheck Fairness Act . What a day! MomsRising members and kids took to the halls of Congress to stand up for #FairPay Hands down, hand-delivering MomsRising member messages and stories to Congress is the thing I love most about my job. It makes me feel humbled and...